Audiobook Review: Citadel (Troy Rising, Book 2) by John Ringo

I am a fan of John Ringos. Not because he is the greatest writer in the world, or puts out great literature that will live on through out the generations. I am a fan of John Ringo because he writes what I want to read, rip roaring space adventures about first contact.

Citadel is the second book in the Troy Rising series, the first being Live Free or Die, and it falls right into Ringo’s breadbasket. First contact is made through a gate that opens into our solar system, allowing for expanded trade, relationships with alien species, and of course, opening up Earth to attack from evil alien species who either want to make us their slaves, or just exterminate us like pests.

A surface explanation of Citadel would make it seem quite boring. At it’s simplest, Citadel is the story of the further construction and day to day activities of Troy, the defensive system for Terra, built into a huge asteroid. Add to that some politics, a touch of xenology, and a few space battles, and you have Citadel in a nutshell. Yet, to take such a limited look would be a mistake. Here we definitely have a case of the sum being greater that the whole of its parts. Full of great characters, crafty aliens, and internal power struggles among humans and aliens a like Citadel is a great listen.

Mark Boyett is an excellent choice for narrator of this series. He brings strong characterizations to a large group cast of players, and leaves the listeners with a sense of familiarity with crew of the Battle Station Troy. Luckily for Boyett, the alien names are full of any pops, grunts or whistles like in some of Ringo’s novels, but what confusing names there are, Boyett is able to help build the personalities through his voices.